


well i hope you know the lengths i've gone to

by albion



Series: eruri week [6]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eruri Week, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M, Past Character Death, Reincarnation, SNK Spoilers, acwnr spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 14:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/albion/pseuds/albion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>eruri week | day seven : “reincarnation”<br/>also originally posted <a href="http://hattushash.tumblr.com/post/71493899363/well-i-hope-you-know-the-lengths-ive-gone-to">here</a> on tumblr</p><p> </p><p>But maybe now they can start again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	well i hope you know the lengths i've gone to

He wakes; gasping and clutching at his sweaty bed sheets that have untucked themselves and now wrap around his legs as tightly as that titan’s jaws had done around his arm, all those years ago.

Erwin breathes for a moment, hearing the _thud thud thud_ of his heart and the blood pounding in his head, staring up at the dark ceiling of his bedroom.

He turns his head to the side to glance at the new alarm clock that he placed there just last night; his old one had a habit of skipping forward twenty minutes at random and it kept throwing off his morning routines.

The clock says 4:42am, and Erwin groans and throws his arm over his face.

Black hair, narrow eyes and a perpetually scowling face.

He never knew he recognized them.

It all comes back to him: the first glimpses of a figure sailing through the air in the underground of Sina, a blade at his neck _(the reason I joined the survey corps was to kill you, erwin)_ , a blank sheet of paper, Levi’s face, Levi’s eyes, _his squad_ _the female titan eren jaeger the colossal titan the armoured titan his arm levi sitting beside his bed the feel of stubble on his jaw levi’s face_

They had died too young.

Too young, but now Erwin feels as though he has been granted a second chance.

He doesn’t intend to waste it.

 

.

 

Somehow, because God is gracious, it only takes Erwin ten years to find Levi again. It’s entirely by accident, and he’s shamefully grateful for the accident that left his boss unable to fly. Therefore as Erwin Smith, vice president and the most responsible person in the entire team, he is sent to Houston as the replacement for the business trip.

In this life, he was born into a wealthy English family in Hertfordshire, and he’s never quite been able to reconcile the childish joy that rises up in his chest every time he sees the ocean, the rolling hills, the endless rows of trees that continue on and on without a goddamn titan in sight. He was the weird child at school; never interested in kicking a football around the gravel but instead sitting on the grassy bank of his school, picking handfuls of grass and making daisy chains with the girls.

He touches down in Texas, tired from his trip, legs aching and neck sore. He finds his luggage on the conveyor, walks alone through the terminals and down to find something to drink. There’s a coffeeshop near the entrance, and Erwin slides up to the counter, pulling out his wallet and fingering the change. He’s still not entirely used to the conversion rate, or the feel of American money in his hands.

“A uh… a large regular coffee please.”

“A dollar twenty five,” says the barista in a distinctive Texan drawl, but something about the voice seems familiar. Erwin looks up from his wallet, and nearly drops it all on the counter.

It’s Levi.

Levi, in _Texas_ in the _United States of America_ working in a coffeeshop in the airport—

“Oi, old man. You want the cup or not?”

Erwin blinks. Levi is holding the cup out to him. He takes it gratefully, and drops the coins in his palm. Levi sniffs, and turns to the register.

“Levi?” Erwin hazards.

Levi looks up. “What?”

He takes a shot in the dark. “…you don’t remember me?”

“Remember you? How the hell would I-”

He stops talking as Erwin adjusts his tie, the way Erwin used to with his bolo when he was tired and stressed.

“… _Erwin_ …?”

Erwin’s face breaks into a smile. Levi looks like he’s about to leap over the counter, but instead he merely slumps forward and looks like he’s about to retch. The girl he’s working with looks over in alarm, but Erwin flaps a hand at her dismissively and Levi mirrors the gesture. Erwin knows all his memories are rushing back to him, and the sensation is akin to receiving a punch right to the solar plexus.

“I’m fine,” Levi gasps. “Just a bit of sudden nausea. Man the till would you?”

She nods, and Levi practically sprints to the backroom. Erwin fills up his cup with hot steaming coffee, and waits for Levi to reappear. After a few minutes Levi practically bursts out from the back door. He walks straight up to Erwin, grabs his sleeve, and pulls him towards one of the tables outside the shop. He pulls Erwin down into a chair, and Erwin hisses at the feeling of coffee sloshing over the rim and onto his hand.

“Erwin,” he says, “how the _hell-_ why did I just get my memories back now? What’s going on? I don’t-”

“Sit down,” Erwin says, and Levi obeys wordlessly. He slumps forward, head in his hands, breathing heavily.

“You’re going to feel strange for a while,” Erwin continues. “I know I did. I vomited a few times too, so don’t suppress the urge to do that if you need to either.”

Levi looks up and laughs shakily. “As if… I’d ever be as weak as you, Erwin.”

“Careful,” Erwin muses, as he takes a sip of his coffee. “That’s your commanding officer you’re speaking to.”

“Not in this life you’re not,” Levi quips, and already the colour is returning to his cheeks. Erwin feels a stab of pride. Levi was never one to be struck down by illness for very long, from what he remembers.

“So… Texas? Quite nice, this place. If a bit hot.”

“England from your hilariously posh accent,” Levi replies, and casually reaches over to pluck the cup from Erwin’s hand to take a sip. This too, is a familiar gesture, though Levi only did it with Erwin.

_(“you’re the only one here i trust to be clean and relatively germ free. anyone else i wouldn’t fucking touch their cup in a million years.”_

_“nice to know you trust me enough to steal my food and drink.”)_

“So…” Levi begins, taking another sip from the cup. “What happens now? Now that we remember? Now that we’ve found each other?”

Erwin pauses to think.

“We always talked about seeing the world together, when the titans were gone,” he says finally, and plucks the cup back from Levi. “We never got to do that. I never wanted anything more than to see the world with you at my side.”

“You want to go _travelling?_ ” Levi asks. He laughs. “Sorry Erwin, but in this life I’m poor as shit. Why else do you think I’d be working here?”

“I’m obscenely rich,” Erwin replies, and watches Levi’s face break into a slow smile.

They never got their wish before, circumstance was too cruel for that.

But maybe now they can start again.

**Author's Note:**

> To those who stuck through all of eruri week, thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them.


End file.
